1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to software applications that are designed to prevent unauthorized people from capturing information on a screen of a smart phone, tablet, or other handheld electronic device. More particularly, the present invention relates to software applications that prevent selected screens from either being photographed or being captured using a screen shot function.
2. Prior Art Description
Many people communicate using smart phones or other handheld electronic devices. Such devices communicate through a communications network, such as a cellular network or WiFi connections to the World Wide Web.
Often the communications between people involve much more than audible data. Rather, data in the form of pictures, videos, and texts are sent between people. Such communications are visual in nature and are intended to be viewed on the screen of the receiver's device. The problem with sending information that is displayed on a screen is that the sender does not know who will be viewing that information. The screens of smart phones and other handheld electronic devices can be observed by anyone near that device. Furthermore, smart phones and similar devices are often left unattended as they charge. This provides an opportunity for unauthorized users to view private communications.
To complicate matters, many handheld electronic devices, have screen shot functions. The screen shot function is typically activated by pressing one or more of the controls on the handheld electronic device while an image is on the screen of that device. The screen shot function turns the image on the screen into a picture file that can later viewed. Consequently, images in a screen that appear only for an instant can be readily captured.
In the prior art, software applications have been developed for smart phones and other handheld electronic devices that are intended to keep certain communications private. For instance, the SnapChat® software application deletes a communication shortly after it is viewed. Other applications delete communications after certain periods of time. Such software applications are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,026 to Collins; U.S. Pat. No. 7,359,722 to Kim and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0181689 to Collins. However, such prior art software application are easily bypassed
Software applications that delete expired communications are good. However, they are readily bypassed by using the screen capture function of the handheld electronic device or by simply taking a picture of the screen while a message is being displayed. Consequently, messages that quickly expire can easily be preserved. Furthermore, deleting a sensitive message is not always appropriate. For example, a person might receive a note from a loved one on his/her smart phone. The recipient may not want anyone else to see the note. However, the recipient may also want to keep the note indefinitely and not have it automatically erased.
Other prior art solutions to the problem involve the encryption of communications. Encryption protects a message in transit. However, once a message, image or video is decrypted, that screen can be easily captured or photographed. Consequently, encryption does little to prevent a person from capturing an image that is intended to be viewed only once or only for a short time period.
A need therefore exists for a software application for a smart phone or other handheld electronic device that can deter any displayed screen from being captured or photographed by an unintended or unauthorized people. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.